Page 175 - Fairbrass

The generally noisy brothers, who had been

so indifferent at the old man’s funeral,
could not, even if they would, hide their fast-

falling1 tears, and the father seemed quite

stricken down with anguish* And soon the
little coffin was lowered into the great vault,

and placcd side by side with the bigger

ones that already occupied it, and close to
the faded bunch of wild flowers that had

brought about such wonderful changes. In

strange contrast to these were the costly and

formal wreaths with which poor Fairbrass
was now covered, but to the heavy-hearted

bystanders the faded wild flowers told once

more the tale of how, on that bright June
morning, the child, happily wandering in

the sunlit fields, had gathered them, and thus

they were the cause of many sympathetic,
regretful, yet consoling tears. Just as the

grave was being once more closed, it was

noticed that the beautiful white flowers were,
by a sudden gust of wind, sprinkled over

with autumnal yellow leaves* They were a